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Some 135 coronavirus patients in Armenia are in serious condition, 63 others are in critical condition, while 15 citizens are hooked up to ventilators, Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan told a news conference on Thursday.

“In parallel to the increase in the number of cases, most of which remain asymptomatic, the number of citizens in serious or critical conditions, as well as those put on ventilators is increasing, a scenario that we have always tried to avoid,” the minister said.

“Every effort must be made to ensure that any citizen who is in serious or critical condition is not deprived of the opportunity to receive treatment at the intensive care unit. We are still able to withstand the pressure, but we must make extra efforts to keep the pressure on. While the main part of the efforts is related to observing the rules,” he said.

The minister said a record number of 1,751 tests have been performed in the country in a single day, bringing the total number of tests to 46,000.

He recalled that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has grown by 335 to 5,606 in the country, with 162 new recoveries and 3 more deaths.

Torosyan added that starting from Friday patients with no or mild symptoms will be sent home from hospitals and hotels to continue their self-isolation at home, but they will be under medical supervision. People who test positive for the virus but require no treatment will not be hospitalized as well.